Force of will is probably the best counterspell in current legacy environment . . Since win condition can be met within 4~5 turns with most of the deck counterspell that does not require mana cost is great. Even though exiling a card from your hand and paying 1 life is not certainly not a low cost, it ultimately won't matter when you can win the game within a couple of turns.

I still remember when Alliances first came out and I was new to the game. I cracked this and thought it was completely useless. But, me being a bit of a pack rat, I put it in a sleeve, then a box, then promptly forgot about it and even walked away from Magic during Tempest. Flashforward some 15-some odd years later, when I get back into the game and dig this up, and find out that it's worth more than my entire collection combined (and of course, my Grinning Totems and Celestial Dawns are worth a buck each, having hit $30 at the time).

Yeah, I was playing the game when this was new, and people did totally recognize how important it was. First turn Channel + Fireball was still very much a thing in people's minds back then, and everyone recognized the importance of a card that could save you from it even before you've taken a turn.

What, do people really think one-turn kills are new? Remember, Black Lotus and the moxes used to be actually available; and there was a time before the restricted list.

"Mana Drain is why we distinguish Vintage from Legacy as separate tournament environments. Force of Will is why we still have tournaments at all."

I think back to that quote every three months or so, when a brand new shiny turn-three combo deck swarms the Top 8 lists... until control decks riding on the back of Force of Will re-emerge to bring that to a halt. In the past couple years alone, Force of Will saved Legacy at least seven times:

i pulled like 3 of these in packs back in the day and traded them. so stupid... nowadays i just shy away from blue so that i won't have to shell out the cash for 3 more. great card.

i'd say this and mana drain are about equal because of how much cool shit you can do with mana drain. counterspell is a close second to these two... tied for the top spot. 5/5 because it's amazing in any type of deck.

@SalientSaved Legacy? Hey man, don't forget Vintage. Combo decks are even more powerful in Vintage. Mana Drain is great and all, but it still costs 2 mana in the first place. That's QUITE an issue when the opponent goes first and plans to kill you on their FIRST TURN. There would be no Vintage nor Legacy without Force of Will.